Rotary engine.



PAIENIED DEG. I5, 190s. A.. C. WILLIS." 4ROTARY ENGINE.

.APPLICATION IILBD AUG. 7, 1902.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

NoV MoDLL.V

No. 747,026. PATENTED DB0.15, ma.'

\ A. G. WILLIS.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 7, 1902. NO MODEL. SHEETS-SHEET 2A WIM/55555 Allorney No.' 747,026. BATENTBD DEG. '15, 1903. A. 0.- WILLIS. ROTARY ENGINE.

" APPLICATION FILED AUG. 7. 1902.

N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-'SHEET 3..

/zVVE/VTOR J Q WM www Hawley lIirnn @rares :Patented December 175i, 19030 AUGUSTUS C. WILLIS, OF HEROLD, ILLINOIS.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part' of Letters Patent No. 747,026, dated December 15, 1903.

Application tiled August 7, 1902. Serial No. 118,800. (No model.)

To @ZZ wtmn t may oon/cern,.-

Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS C. WILLIS, a resident of Herold, in the county of IVhite and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines; and I d hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improved rotary engine, the object of the invention being to provide improvements of this character in which one cylinder will be revolved within another by means of blades mounted to turn and present always a broad face to the steampressure and a narrow face or edge in resistance.

A further object is to provide an improved rotary engine which will be extremely simple in construct-ion and perfect in operation and which can be readily and quickly reversed.

With these objects in view the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be more fully hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in elevation illustrating my improvements. Figs. 2 and 3 are views in longitudinal section, and Fig. 4t is a cross-section.

1 represents the engine bed-plate, on which is supported my improved engine-casing 2, having a cylinder 3 formed in its upper portion and its lower portion divided by a longitudinal partition 4 and lateral partition 5, forming steam-chambers 6, 7, 8, and 9, respectively, for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. Side plates 10 are secured to the casing to close the steam chambers and cylinder, as clearly shown.

The power-shaft 11 projects through and is supported in bearings in casing-plates 10 and is connected by fixed spokes 12 with a revolving cylinder 13, fitting snugly in cylinder Secured upon a common shaft 15, revolubly supported in shaft 1l, are blades or paddles 16, disposed at right angles to each other and having rotary bearings at their outer ends against the cylinder 13, which latter is shaped to snugly fit the ends of the blades and prevent escape of steam past them at this point.

The casing-plates 10 are provided in cylinder 13 with semicircular plates or enlargements 17, contracting the lower space in the cylinder just large enough to permit the blades to pass therethrough edgewise, and both of said enlargements are beveled at one end, as shown at 18, to permit the blade to turn after striking the sharp edge 19 of the other enlargement. In other words, these enlargements are so shaped at both ends to turn the paddles a quarter-revolution regardless of the direction of rotation of the power-shaft, and the casing-plates are dished to permit this turning of the paddles without undue friction.

The steam-cham bers 6 and 8 are inlet-chambers connected bya duct 2l through partition 5 and receive steam through an inlet 22,while chambers 7 and 9 are exhaust-chambers connected by a duct 23 in partition 5 and eX- haust through a port 2-1 at the opposite end of the engine.

On both sides of the engine-casing inlet and exhaust steam passages are provided, as will now be explained. An inlet-passage 25 connects chamber 6 with a post 26 at the dat edge of one enlargement 17, and the exhaustpassage 27 connects a port 28 in the beveled portion of this enlargement with chamber 7, while on the opposite side of the engine-casing an inlet-passage 29 connects chamber 8 with a port 30 in the flat edge of the enlargement 17, and an exhaust-passage 31 connects an exhaust-port 32 in the beveled portion of this same enlargement with chamber 9. These passages 25, 27, and 29, 31 on the opposite sides ofthe casing are disposed parallel and intersected by valve-casings 33, having valves 34 and 35 respectively,therein. These valves are in the form of rods made with peripheral recesses to aline with the steam-passages, and permit the steam to pass therethroughor shut off the steam, as desired.

On one end of the engine a toothed segment 36 is secured and has a T-shaped lever 37 pivoted thereon, to which the respective valves 341 and 35 are connected by links, as shown, and said lever carries a pivoted detent to lock the lever and valves in any position to which they are moved by the lever. The operation of my improvements is as follows: When lever 37 is located centrally on segment 36, allof the steam-passages will IOO vIO

be closed, and when moved to one extreme position valve 34 will open passages 25 and 27, while valve 35 will close passages 29 and 31. When in this position, live steam from chamber 6 will pass through passage 25 and port 26 against the flat blade 16 and force it around until it strikes the enlargements 17, when it will be turned by the enlargements, presenting the dat face of the other blade 16 to the live steam at port 26 and itself passing edgewise between the enlargements, the eX- haust-steam escaping through port 28, passage 27, and exhaust-chamber 7. When it is desired vto reverse the engine, lever 37 is moved to its other extreme position to close passages 25 and 27 and open passages 29 and 31. When in this position, live steam will pass from chamber 8 through passage 29 and port 30 into the cylinder 18 behind the flat face of a blade and force it in the reverse direction, the steam exhausting through port 32, passage 21, and chamber 9.

With my improvements it will be seen that cylinder 13 is turned in cylinder 3, and as cylinder 13 is connected by spokes l2 with the power-shaft the latter will be revolved, and owing to the fact that the blades 16 are secured onacommon shaft and turn together and that the enlargements 17 at both ends of the cylinder will turn the blades the engine can be run equally well in either direction and reversed at will.

Agreat many slight changes might be made in the general form and arrangement of the several parts described without departing from my invention, and hence I do not limit myself to the precise construction set forth, but consider myself at liberty to make such slight changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a rotary engine, the combination with a stationary cylinder, of a rotary cylinder therein,'a power-shaft, rigid spokes connecting the power-shaft and rotary cylinder, a shaft projecting through the powershaft, blades on said last-mentioned shaft and at right angles to each other and having a rotary bearing at their outer ends in the rotary cylinder, means for turning the blades, and means for supplying steam against their fiat face.

2. In a rotary engine, the combination with a stationary cylinder, of a rotary cylinder therein, a power-shaft,`blades pivoted to said shaft secured togetherand disposed at right angles to each other, enlargements on the cylinder-casing contracting the lower half thereof in the rotary cylinder, one of these enlargements at each end beveled to permit the blade to turn and pass between the enlargements, steam inlet and exhaust ports at the ends of both enlargements, and means for reversing the direction of flow of the steam.

3. In a rotary engine, the combination with a stationary cylinder and a rotary cylinder therein, of blades connected with the powershaft, a power-shaft connected by spokes with the rotary cylinder, two inlet and two exhaust steam chambers connected by ducts, steampassages from the inlet-chambers to opposite sidesof the blades, and means for shutting off both or one series of steam-passages.

4. In a rotary engine, the combination with a casing, a cylinder therein, a power-shaft and blades in the cylinder to turn the powershaft, of two inlet and two exhaust steam chambers below the cylinder, steam-passages on both sides of the casing connecting said chambers with the cylinder, a lever, a detent carried by the lever to lock it in any position, and valves connected with said lever to open and close said steam-passages.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AUGUSTUS C. WILLIS.

Witnesses:

THOMAS M. Poot., GEORGE H. WILLIAMS. 

